Newport Bay Conservancy
Protecting & Preserving Upper Newport Bay
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Newport Bay Conservancy (NBC) is the single organization focused exclusively on the conservation and restoration of Upper Newport Bay – one of the most precious natural resources in Southern California. Orange County is recognized as a globally important hotspot of biodiversity. The Bay, as home to several of the region’s most productive ecosystems, contributes to that diversity. Our vision is that we will inspire the communities of our central Orange County watershed to work in harmony to enhance the natural beauty and ecological value of Upper Newport Bay and provide for the continued public enjoyment of this priceless resource. Financial, practical, technical and influential support is critical as we strive to do what is best for the Bay, the watershed, the animals and the people. Please help us achieve our vision.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Educational Programs
• Guest Services: Muth Interpretive Center where volunteers staff the welcome desk 6 days/week providing 40,000 visitors with directions, information, and details about the plant and animal life of the Bay each year. • Elementary School Programming: K-5th environmental programs that align with California State Science Content Standards. • High School Programming: Four-part program which includes a Cleanup Day, a water tour day, a day at the Back Bay Science Center, and a student environmental fair. Offered at no charge to students from Title I schools. • Nature Walks: Weekly walks led by NBC Naturalists at around the Bay to observe birds, plants, habitats, etc. • Kayak/Outrigger Canoe Tours led by NBC Naturalists. Visitors learn about the Bay from a water. • Quarterly Environmental Film Series is offered in partnership with the Newport Beach Film Festival to raise awareness of important issues affecting the environment and cover a wide array of “eco” and “green” topics.
Restoration Programs
Restoration Programs: Newport Bay Conservancy staff and volunteers concentrate on environmental stewardship, develop grants to work on larger-scale restoration projects. Big Canyon Creek Restoration and Estuary Adaptation Project: An ongoing effort to remove invasive Brazilian peppertrees and other invasive plants and re-establish riparian, alkaline marsh, and coastal sage scrub habitat. Control of Invasive Algerian Sea Lavender in Upper Newport Bay: An ongoing effort to remove Algerian Sea Lavender, a dominant invasive weed, throughout the Upper Newport Bay. Bayview Habitat Restoration Project: A restoration project to re-establish coastal sage scrub that is led and managed by NBC volunteers. Second Sunday Restoration Program: Monthly restoration events led by OC Parks in collaboration with NBC. ROOTS: Monthly restoration events led by Project Grow, a partnering organization of NBC. Monthly Kayak Clean-ups led by NBC naturalists: Public volunteers help pick up trash in the water while riding on kayaks.
Where we work
External reviews

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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
EDUCATION: Enhance people's knowledge and appreciation of the Bay and increase their awareness of the role they play in protecting the environment.
RESTORATION: Improve the habitat of the Upper Newport Bay, everything from water quality, fisheries (as the Bay is a nursery for many fish), habitat enhancement as it may be affected by climate change.
RESEARCH: Support science-based adaptive management for over a square mile of protected tidelands and uplands in the heart of Newport Beach.
ADVOCACY: Help to protect the balance of people and nature.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
EDUCATION: Conduct environmental education programs and nature tours for school and college groups and for the general public.
RESTORATION: Organize community-based native habitat restoration and other service activities that involve the public and local businesses in the stewardship of the Bay. We also tackle large-scale restoration projects.
RESEARCH: Assisting, performing and sponsoring habitat and wildlife monitoring and research, implementing conservation projects, and providing information management services.
ADVOCACY: Facilitate integrated, sustainable management of the 154 square mile area of central Orange County that drains to the ocean via the Bay.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Newport Bay Conservancy (NBC) is lead by a 13-member Board elected by our membership, a group of volunteers who contribute a minimum number of hours of service to the Bay each year. The Board is made up of a mixture of executives, scientists, volunteer Naturalists, and community leaders all who develop our annual priorities and structure activities to enhance our programs, raise funds, raise awareness of our mission or help conduct the financial or administrative business of the organization.
NBC's strategic vision is carried out by staff leaders in operations, education, and restoration which are supported by staff assistant coordinators who all work together lead programming and, recruit, train and motivate volunteers.
NBC also enlists the help of over 150 Volunteer Naturalists (who have taken a 12-week program to deeply understand the ecology of the Bay) and 75 Volunteer Associates (who have participated in orientation, CPR/First Aid and interpretive training) that provide leadership or assistance in a variety of programming supporting NBC lead programs or landowner/partner programs. These volunteers contribute over 11,000 hours of service annually, reaching over 50,000 people.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 1967, the Friends of Newport Bay, led by residents Frank and Frances Robinson, was founded by a group of local, concerned citizens to prevent the Bay from becoming a marina and gated community, to call attention to the ecological importance of the Bay, and to enlist broad support to preserve the Bay in its natural state.
In 1975, following years of public advocacy, the Upper Newport Bay was declared an ecological reserve under the supervision of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. Soon after, the County of Orange declared the northwest bluffs a preserve. Today, the Back Bay and surrounding uplands are preserved for all to enjoy. The Newport Bay Conservancy is dedicated to saving this treasure in perpetuity.
The Newport Bay Conservancy has been the leading non-profit organization providing educational programs and public participation projects at the Back Bay for over 50 years. The Conservancy connects thousands of people to the Bay and the importance of environments like these every year through hundreds of activities.
In the past year (from October 2017 to September 2018) we carried out the following programs:
• Helped to educate 33,873 members of the public about the ecological importance of the Bay by providing volunteer support/staffing at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center every day except Mondays.
• Hosted field trips teaching pre-K through 6th grade (1,256) and high school/college (1,014) students throughout the school year, sponsoring some of the transportation costs associated with getting the schools to/from the Bay.
• Hosted free public walking tours and guided kayak tours to inspire 1,536 people.
• Hosted a dozen special events throughout the year that connected another 2,460 people to the Bay.
• Besides conducting weekly restoration events with volunteers with the ASL removal or Bayview restoration projects, we conducted 19 restoration events with the public, engaging 1,414 one time volunteers in order to help remove invasive species of plants and plant native plants to enhance the habitat of the Bay.
• Hosted one symposium educating 89 people about the importance of wetlands spaces like the Bay.
• Hosted trash pickup days in the Bay to remove excess of 10,000 pounds of trash from the wetland both from kayaks and land-based cleanups.
• Participated in ten outreach events throughout the year, connecting with another 6,139 people.
Altogether, over 48,000 people were educated and inspired to protect and preserve open spaces like the Upper Newport Bay through 601 events.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Newport Bay Conservancy
Board of directorsas of 05/30/2023
Cassandra Radcliff
Author, Saving Upper Newport Bay
Term: 2022 - 2024
Ramraghi Fuller
J.P. Morgan
Derrick Ankerstar
Orange County Park Ranger
Kimberly Leue-Bick
Founder, Bick Law LLP
Taylor Sias
San Diego Gas & Electric
Julie Ferguson
UCI, Earth Systems Science
Susan Jarratt
Retired Professor
Susie Onate
Pacific Life
Mario Cuevas
Teacher, Santa Ana Unified School District
Saam Shams
Geotechnical Engineer, AECOM
Peter Bryant
Retired Professor
Stacey Tutt
Senior Staff Attorney, National Housing Law Project
Cesar Gallo
Web Developer, City of Garden Grove
Organizational demographics
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Leadership
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